Giant Tortoises Still on the Menu- 4 More Slaughtered in Isabela

Press Release
Puerto Ayora, Galapagos – September 26, 2006

The slaughter of the Galapagos giant tortoises continues in the south of Isabela Island as poaching hacks away at the already low numbers of the very emblem and namesake of the archipelago. On September 14th, during routine patrolling in the Roca Union area, south of the town of Puerto Villamil, park wardens discovered the butchered remains of 2 adult females, an adult male and bones of a young adult.

Most disappointing for the CDF is that the news of this recent find came on the eve of an archipelago wide tour by the "Friends of the Tortoises" children's club from Puerto Villamil. The club is an initiative run by our Environmental Education Center (EEC). The club members toured all the populated islands to present their work to local media, schools and authorities to encourage others to act and protect the tortoises.

Said EEC coordinator Marta Veliz, "The kids efforts in creating awareness about the importance of the giant tortoise amongst their home community has helped reduce the killing from almost 50 in 2003 to only 6 this year."

This recent incident shows that there is till much work to be done in terms of changing cultural habits and attitudes. There is a long history of tortoise "harvest" for food in the islands and these animals are from populations that suffered the impacts of large scale hunting in past centuries combined with the pressure of introduced animals- threats that have brought them to the brink of extinction in barely a few hundred years. Modern day poaching of tortoises for food is a lingering and unnecessary shadow from the past.

The CDF strategy aims at helping to forge a sustainable Galapagos society in which the people who inhabit the islands will act as agents of conservation.
This means creating awareness of and respect for the limits involved in living here, and promoting the active participation of the local community in the protection of the natural resources.

A pilot project on Isabela Island which fosters out young tortoises to the care of local farmers provides a unique protection and education program that also provides an eco-tourism opportunity for local people. With the help of the local farming community, the young tortoises receive vital protection and care, thereby increasing personal interest in these creatures among the island's residents so that tortoises are no longer killed. The children from the "Friends of the Tortoises" help out as guides at the farm as well as at the captive breeding center.

"Our mission is to help our people care about the tortoises and protect them," said 16 year-old Nathaly Ortuno; "Our surveys show that since we started our campaigns more people think that saving the tortoises is important and more people want to help protect them".

The way forward in protecting the giant tortoises of southern Isabela hinges on interlinking conservation with the community; harmony can only be achieved when a live tortoise is worth much more than a dead one to everyone. One man's meal today could change the future of an entire community.